Washington– US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the leaders of… Russia and Ukraine Both sides agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange, adding that such a cessation of hostilities could be the “beginning of the end” of their long war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, confirmed the agreement.
“I asked for it, and President Putin agreed. President Zelensky agreed — both easily,” Trump said as he left the White House to attend a dinner at his golf club in Virginia. “And we have a short period of time where they won’t kill people. That’s very good.”
Trump had announced earlier Friday on social media that the ceasefire would continue from Saturday to Monday. Saturday is Victory Day in RussiaIt is a holiday that commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“I am pleased to announce that there will be a three-day ceasefire (May 9, 10 and 11) in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “The celebration in Russia is for Victory Day, but also in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor in World War II.”
The Republican President said that the ceasefire includes the suspension of all movement activities and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners between each country.
Russia announced a ceasefire on Friday and Saturday, but it quickly collapsed, with both sides blaming the other for continued fighting, just as happened when a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine quickly collapsed earlier in the week.
Trump said that he presented his request for a ceasefire “directly” to the two presidents. He added: “We hope that this is the beginning of the end of a long, deadly and arduous war.”
Trump added that talks are continuing on ending the war that began in February 2022, “and we are getting closer and closer every day.” Trump has gone back and forth on whether the war will end, at times expressing optimism and at other times saying Russia and Ukraine should be left to fight the war to the bitter end.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s decision on how to participate in those discussions was partly influenced by the prospect of prisoner releases. Ukraine has made the return of prisoners of war a central demand throughout the conflict.
“Red Square interests us no more than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war who can be repatriated,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Red Square is where Russia holds its traditional military parade to celebrate Victory Day, one of the biggest holidays of the year.
After issuing his statement, Zelensky issued a formal presidential decree “authorizing” Russia to organize the parade, declaring that Red Square is off-limits to Ukrainian strikes for the duration of the event. The wording of the decree appears intended to underscore Kiev’s claim that it possesses effective targeting capability over the Russian capital, while publicly linking Ukrainian restraint to the terms of the ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later dismissed Zelensky’s decree as a “ridiculous joke.”
“We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of Victory Day,” Peskov told reporters.
Zelensky said that the ceasefire agreement was reached through an American-brokered process and thanked Trump and the American team for what he described as effective diplomatic participation. He added that Ukraine expects Washington to oblige Russia to the terms of the agreement.
“We depend on the United States to ensure that Russia fulfills its obligations,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that he had instructed his team to prepare everything necessary for the exchange without delay.
Trump’s announcement came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a more somber tone on negotiations to stop Russia’s four-year-old war in Ukraine, saying US mediation efforts had not led to a “productive outcome” so far.
“While we are ready to play any role we can to reach a peaceful diplomatic solution, unfortunately at the present time, these efforts are stagnating,” Rubio told reporters at the end of a visit to Rome and the Vatican. “But we are always prepared if those circumstances change.”
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Associated Press writers Hana Arherova in Kiev and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.